Easter in the Delta

We had planned to get up around 8 on Sunday / Easter and leave at 9 to motor over to the Point Waterfront restaurant for our 11 am brunch reservation.  Everyone was dragging around Sunday and we briefly discussed taking the car instead but everyone rallied and we got underway around 9:30.  It was a nice ride over and we were surprised we saw so few other boats out.  We went through three mile slough and under the three mile slough bridge, which was a first for us.  We weren't sure what to expect with requesting the bridge opening.  Matt hailed the bridge tender and asked for an opening. None of really understood the garbled reply but we soon heard the warning bells ringing for the cars and saw the gates come down and the cars stop, then the bridge started going up.  We only needed a few more feet from closed clearance so we started moving towards the bridge as it went up.  The bridge tender stopped raising it as we went under, it was maybe 10 or 15 feet up.  The tender came out and we all waved and yelled "thank you".  Seems like it would be a pretty boring job.

Once we were under the bridge, we weren't really sure which way to go to get to the channel in the Sacramento River, which was on the opposite side of the river.  We decided with an abundance of caution to go straight across and make a 90 degree turn into the channel.  We got to the Rio Vista Marina at about 10:50 and were quickly tied up (Matt did a great job docking despite a farily strong current) and on our way into the restaurant after a quick stop to report in at the marina office.

The restaurant seemed fairly empty when we walked in but quickly filled up as the after church family groups came in.  As we went to the buffet the staff were refilling all the items.  Nice timing!  All the food was great and the staff was super nice.  We found out later that our server was the owners' son.  He was a super friendly and cheerful young man.  The food was nothing fancy by bay area standards but it was good food at a good price and I would definitely go back. 

On the way out we stopped at the marina office again, which is also a chandlery so we browsed around and were very impressed by the selection, both of boat necessities and silly stuff.  I also asked some local looking folks about the best way to get from the channel to the bridge on the way back and they pretty much said to go with the right angle turn as we had done.  I will definitely ask some of our friends though to see if there is a safe shortcut.

Once we were underway we realized the fog horn sound we kept hearing was the bartender at the restaurant honking at the boats going in and out (the bar had a great view of the river, by the way).  We took a quick look at the houses right on the water, north of the marina, then headed back to the slough.  We had an uneventful trip back and a slightly hair raising return to the slip.  It is so hard to judge the current and if you are going too slow you get swept into the roof supports.  We were a little too far upstream as we turned in and were getting pushed by the current into the supports.  Joe and I raced over to fend off and one of the fenders got caught in between the hull and the support.  It kept the boat safe and pretty much popped the fender.  LOL.  Good thing we have two spares in the garage, thanks to a friend who gave us his fenders after he sold his boat. 

We slowly and reluctantly packed up and finally got in the car around 4.  We stopped by Willow Berm around 4 and found out that they have a spot for us.  Yea.  Matt is so excited.  I feel bad about leaving Delta Bay after Judy was so accommodating but Matt loves Willow Berm.  It is REALLY nice.  So we hope to move in a few weeks.  Joe and Carrie will have their boat there in August.